Mark Pope's defense will help the offense be able to get up a ton of threes

The defense will be a vastly underrated part of the Kentucky basketball team.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope applauds his team in action against Minnesota State during their exhibition game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. on Oct, 29, 2024. / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In Kentucky's first exhibition game against Kentucky Wesleyan, the Wildcats didn't have any issue scoring at any point of the game. In the Wildcat's second and final exhibition game, in the first ten minutes, there were some issues when it came to turning over the ball and scoring.

Of course, in the final 30 minutes of game time, this wasn't an issue as the Wildcats got hot from three and blew out Minnesota State.

That first ten minutes of this game, in a weird way, should excite Kentucky fans, and this is because while the three-point shots weren't falling, the defense was able to keep them ahead. Then, of course, the threes started to go down, and the Wildcats blew out Minnesota State.

This will be even more important when the Wildcats get into SEC play because they can keep shooting the three ball, knowing if they don't fall, the defense will keep them close. Then, once the threes start to fall, the Wildcats will go on a big run.

This was not a luxury Kentucky had last season. Last year, when the shots weren't falling, Kentucky would get in a hole that was often too large to overcome.

The mixture of offense and defense is what makes this Kentucky team so dangerous, although the offense will get most of the credit. This is why Coach Pope recruiting players like Lamont Butler, Amari Williams, and Otega Oweh was so important, as they will be lockdown defenders while the others do most of the scoring. Kentucky's balance will make this team special.